1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a backlight assembly having a lamp socket unit, a liquid crystal display having the backlight unit and a method of manufacturing the backlight unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device is a type of flat panel display device which displays an image using optical and electrical characteristics of liquid crystals interposed between two substrates.
The LCD device typically includes a liquid crystal control unit and a light supplying unit. The liquid crystal control unit controls an alignment of the liquid crystals. The light supplying unit supplies the liquid crystal control unit with light. The LCD device may include, for example, an LCD panel as the liquid crystal control unit and a backlight assembly as the light supplying unit.
The backlight assembly generally includes a light source which generates the light. In addition, the backlight assembly is typically classified as either an edge illumination type backlight assembly or, alternatively, a direct illumination type backlight assembly. The edge illumination type backlight assembly includes a light-guide plate adjacent to a lamp. The light-guide plate guides the light toward the LCD panel. On the other hand, the direct illumination type backlight assembly includes a diffusion plate adjacent to a lamp to diffuse light generated from the lamp onto the LCD panel.
In both the edge illumination type and the direct illumination type backlight assemblies, a lamp socket fixes the lamp to a receiving container. In the direct illumination type backlight assembly, however, a plurality of lamps is typically provided. Thus, the plurality of lamps are aligned in the receiving container using an aligning plate to fix lamp sockets of corresponding lamps to the receiving container.
When the backlight assembly includes the lamp sockets and the aligning plate to fix the lamps to the receiving container, as in the direct illumination type backlight assembly, a manufacturing process of an LCD device having the direct illumination type backlight assembly becomes complicated in comparison with the edge illumination type backlight assembly. In addition, a die and a mold for the lamp sockets and the aligning plate are required, and manufacturing costs, as well as a total number of required manufacturing elements are both increased. Further, impurities flow into a space created between the lamp sockets and the aligning plate during or after the manufacturing process. Additionally, a location of the lamp sockets changes as a shape of the LCD device is changed, e.g., by expansion or contraction during the manufacturing process. As a result, a shape of the aligning plate changes. Thus, the manufacturing costs and a manufacturing time are further increased.
Therefore, it is desired to develop a backlight assembly having lamps securely fixed therein, but does not require an aligning plate to fix the lamps to a receiving container thereof.